My Fresh Pickled Toad
by HermioneHuff
Summary: I hear a scream. A joyful, female scream. I can't believe it... Harry?... One-Shot, Hinny. Full Summary Inside. Reviews welcome. *Edited 04/12/12*


**Title:** My Fresh Pickled Toad

**Ships: **Hinny

**Rating: **K+

**Time Range: **Just prior to the end of Deathly Hallows

**Summary:** Ginny finds out that the one she loves is gone, and she has no clue how to react… Freaking out seems like a good idea, I'll try that…

**Edited: **Thanks for the reviews, I took your suggestions into consideration and edited my story. Enjoy!

_And so the story starts…_

I hear a scream.

Not the kind of scream I've heard in the last few hours, not a scream of sadness and pain, but a joyful, female scream, almost a laugh. It's coming from outside the entrance hall where I'm standing because I am not able to look at my brother's broken body anymore. So I follow it.

I run outside, and I'm horrified at what I see. For a straight minute, I just stand there, silent and terrified, staring at the Forbidden Forest, where a crowd is approaching the castle, and in the front, limp and lifeless, carried by Hagrid, is-

"HARRY!" I hear someone scream, and I find my voice again.

I cry out too, and I drop to my knees as I begin to weep.

My Harry, my love, my reason to live, is dead.

He's gone, and there's nothing I can do about it. I couldn't have done anything to help him when Sirius died, nor when Dumbledore died, and now…

I hear talking, but I'm in such a state of shock that it's muffled. But I look up just as Neville, next to me, steps forward. He says a few words that I couldn't hear, and You-Know-Who— ah, what the hell, _Voldemort_— replies.

My ears tune back in as Neville finishes. "I'll join you when _hell_ freezes over. Dumbledore's Army!"

I find myself standing up next to him, and I cheer along with the rest of our friends-

_Our friends._ They're all still alive. Even though Harry's gone, we can still fight.

And yet… I still feel like Harry's here. I know he's gone, but there's something wrong with this picture.

I see Harry pull off his Invisibility cloak, revealing himself to Voldemort and the crowd.

I gasp, and so does everyone else. "Harry," I whisper to nobody in particular, feeling weak at the knees again. "You're alive!"

_Harry has done it._

I have just enough time to think it before a cheering erupts and everyone, including myself, rushes towards Harry. Naturally, Ron and Hermione make it to him first before others want a chance with Harry, the boy who lived, the boy who defeated Voldemort.

"Hey Luna…" I start, after everything has settled down.

"You're looking for Harry?" She doesn't even look up from the Former-Gryffindor table where she is reading _The Quibbler_.

I laugh. "You know me so well."

"I just distracted everyone so he could be on his own. If I were him, I'd be in Dumbledore's old office with Ron and Hermione."

I'm puzzled. Since when is she so in-touch with Harry as well?

She seems to see my confusion. "It's really the only place to be alone in such a crowded place."

"I see. Thanks, Luna."

"See you, Ginny."

I head to Dumbledore's Office, and stand beside the Gargoyle, thinking. What will I say to him, after this long while away from each other?

Eventually, Harry, Hermione and my brother come down from Dumbledore's Office.

"Hey Harry." I say, and he starts, not knowing I was there.

"Ron, let's go get some food." Hermione suggests, pulling him away.

Surprisingly, my brother catches on, and leaves with her. Good for him.

"Ginny, I-" Harry begins.

I put my index finger on his lips, silencing him. "It's okay."

Harry talks through my finger. "I'm sorry-"

"Shh, Harry." I tell him, but he won't listen.

He pulls my finger away and talks more. "Ginny, just listen-"

I kiss him, and he shuts up this time.

I pull away when I can't breathe, and I begin talking this time. "Harry, the past is the past and you did it to protect me. Now that Voldemort is gone, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is right here, right now. What matters is you and me. What matters is that I love you, my fresh pickled toad."

He blushes, and that's when I kiss him again.


End file.
